*This is the first in a series of articles to recognize veterans in Simpson County.
Virginia Montgomery says she has no accent but it is evident she is not from around here. Born in Nebraska and raised in South Dakota, Montgomery wound up here when she married a Southerner in the Army.
Montgomery, 79, enlisted in 1973 in her mid 20’s. She wanted to join right out of high school but her father, who was in the U.S. Navy, said “no” for various reasons. “I couldn’t serve on a ship because women weren’t allowed in those days.”
When she did enlist she simply informed her dad she was flying out to Fort McClellan in Alabama. “At that time it was all- WAC base. I’m the last of the WAC, which is Women’s Army Corps. I didn’t think there were any men, only women, but it was also the MP training base. My dad just said, ‘Oh Virginia, Virginia,’ because I don’t keep a job for two years. I just get bored. So he didn’t think I’d last and it would be a real disappointment.”
As a WAC, Montgomery joined the Army Reserve in Ogden, Utah, where she was sent after completing her training at Fort McClellan. The Ogden Army Reserve had artillery and combat engineers, but WAC members typically served in clerical, communications or mechanic – non combat roles. When Montgomery completed her daily office work, however, she went to the Motor Pool. “The guys didn’t like that but I wanted to be outside. After the guys giving me a hard time, cussing and telling dirty jokes, it didn’t bother me. I could take care of myself. My dad trained us girls (four). We couldn’t even drive until we changed tires, checked the oil, water; all that.”
Montgomery began to win them over when the men attempted to trick her. Some weekends she had driven big rig gas delivery trucks through Utah and Wyoming. She asked the motor pool if she could drive, and the response was that she had to change a tire on that 18 wheeler first. Montgomery replied, “No, you change it first. Then I’ll show you how to change it. They said, ‘Well you can’t change tires. You have to have somebody come out and do it,’” she said with a smile. It still took nearly a year for Montgomery to earn their respect.
“Women have served a lot of years with no recognition,” she added.
Women could only serve three years in WAC and if they became pregnant they were discharged. Montgomery did become pregnant, and the motor pool guys helped her disguise the pregnancy. She was keeping up with all the physical requirements but her belly began to grow. One particular member gave her some of his large shirts but the commander did notice, thinking she was gaining weight. “He told me ‘You’ve got to slow down a little bit,’” Montgomery said.
While loading the DC8 Cat, no easy feat, Montgomery went into labor. “My squad leaders – they really enjoyed me then; I could do anything. If I couldn’t I wouldn’t be there. They took me to the hospital and told the captain I’d just gotten sick. I just about got court-martialed. The colonel says, ‘Anybody that can do that although you put a baby and things at risk and hide that, must really want to stay. I’m not going to do anything.’ They even let me bring the baby once in a while to feed it.”
Montgomery began to think about her future, especially her baby, and decided it was time to find something else. However her command sergeant major told her clearly that she was too good to lose, asking her to stay if different work could be found for her. She said yes and then went active duty, joining the U.S. Army in 1976. “I ended up being a recruiter the next 20 years.”
Montgomery spent those 20 years traversing the United States stationed at various posts. She had only one opportunity to serve in Germany with all the required paperwork lined up. Montgomery cannot remember the date but does remember the bombings occurring in Munich at the time. “They rescinded my orders at the last minute because they didn’t want to send a single girl over. I had three girls at that time. I cried and cried. I wanted to go to Germany so bad.”
As an E7, Montgomery made an impression on the Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA) at that time. “I’d be calling him all the time for exceptions. We took care of five states, 800 or 900 recruiters that when they had to do a waiver or exception they would come to Brigade Headquarters or call in. I would go by the regulation but I would look at a lot of the gray areas to help a recruiter get somebody in. But I would not break the rules.”
Montgomery went through the Pentagon to reach the SMA, explaining her belief in exceptions. He trusted her so much it got to the point, she said, that she simply put his name on the application for exception.
During Montgomery’s military career she had top security clearance to meet the demands of her position.
Her last assignment was at Fort Knox, Ky. She retired in 1998. “I got out not because I got married. I got picked up for the Sergeant Major Academy. I’d have to go to El Paso, Texas, for two years for the course and to finish getting my associate’s degree. Then they assign you someplace for two more years before you could put on the Sgt. Major stripe. That would be an extra four years. I was already close to 50. I’d had enough. And the higher rank you get – it’s no fun!”
Montgomery said her father taught her how to clean a gun and shoot, taking her on her first hunt at 8 years old. She still knows how to handle a weapon. She would rather see combat than be in charge of troops, saying it was more like babysitting. “Now I get so mad when I see women pilots and going into combat!” It was a desire never fulfilled.
Montgomery stays active by assisting in various ways at her home church, Braxton Methodist. She tried to leave the Volunteer Braxton Fire Department, but they refused her departure. While she no longer drives the rescue truck, she still goes on calls for emergency medical rescue issues like CPR and blood pressure monitoring. Montgomery also takes care of the hoses, saying she will stay as long as she is able. “There are still things I can do.”
